Mainly banana and conserved using both field collection and tissue culture techniques such as Cryo-preservation

Conventional breeding

Conventional breeding Continues to generate improved breedinglines and developments of new and better varieties of banana and beans.

Genomics and gene discovery

Molecular biology techniques are being used and developed assist conventional breeding, understanding germplasm diversity, fingerprinting and discovery of new useful genes.

Genetic engineering of crops

Genetically engineered is important due to difficulty in its conventional breeding and the lack of resistant genes. New traits for pest and disease resistance, nutritional quality and crop productivity are being tested mainly for banana and other crops such potato, Cassava Millet and ground nuts.

Pathogen free planting material multiplication

We use tissue culture techniques to develop protocols for rapid multiplication of vegetative propagated crops mainly coffee and banana. These planting materials are free from fungal and bacterial pathogens

Virus indexing

Techniques for virus indexing and cleaning are developed and adapted for viral diseases afflicting important Ugandan crops

The vast majority of the bananas currently grown and consumed were not conventionally bred but are selections made over probably thousands of years from naturally occurring hybrids. Cultivated bananas are very nearly sterile and as a consequence are not propagated from seed but rather through vegetative propagation, primarily suckers as well as more recently micropropagated or tissue cultured bananas. These factors, very old selections, near sterility and vegetative propagation, mean that these bananas have not been genetically improved either for resistance or improved quality and are becoming increasing in affected by serious pests and diseases.